For more than twenty years he has been releasing, to only marginal commercial and critical success, playful and transgressive albums on labels in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan. In his lyrics and his other writing he makes seemingly random use of decontextualized pieces of continental (mostly French) philosophy, and has built up a personal world he says is "dominated by values like diversity, orientalism, and a respect for otherness." He is also known in certain circles outside the U.S. as a producer. He is fascinated by identity, Japan, the avant-garde, time travel and sex. Live Momus shows are rare but when he does perform he often sings the crowd favourite 'maf' from the Stars Forever LP.
He wears a patch over his right eye because he lost the use of it after contracting acanthamoeba keratitis from a contact lens case washed with Greek tap water.
Nick Currie currently resides in Osaka, Japan.
Electrosexual Sewing Machine
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The noise of the street enters the house
Darkness conceals the electrosexual sewing machine
An eagle is wearing your clothes
Your foot has a shoe with six toes
The ghost of a girl with long black hair
Plays the koto as you go to sleep
It seems you were born in some Czechoslovakian town
Your buttons were torn from a Hapsburg Empire silk
Dressing gown
Far away and a long time ago
Crimson and black in the snow
A spooky young man whose face was scarred
Mixed you up with the killer of flies
In a pitch black forest
Twelve blind people are screaming in horror and fear
For their guide
Maybe he died
Mechanisation is taking command
All decoration is banned on the word of the ultra-
Sadistic popular front
A shrimp has made off with your shirt
You're naked in front of the court
They're reading from your biography
It's the bit where the character dies
In a pitch black forest
Twelve blind people are screaming in horror and fear
For their guide
Maybe he died
The electrosexual sewing machine
Far away and a long time ago
Crimson and black in the snow
A spooky young girl with long black hair
In a pitch black forest
Twelve blind people were screaming in horror and fear
For their guide
Maybe he died
The electrosexual sewing machine!
The lyrics of Momus's song "Electrosexual Sewing Machine" are mysterious and surreal, painting vivid images that are open to interpretation. The song seems to be a stream of consciousness narrative, with shifting scenes and disconnected images that create a dreamlike atmosphere. The opening lines suggest a clash between the outside world and the inner sanctity of the house, as the noise from the street intrudes upon the darkness where the "electrosexual sewing machine" (a machine combining electronics and sewing) lurks. The machine itself is eerie and otherworldly, embodying a strange mix of sexuality and mechanization.
The lyrics then take on a series of disconnected images and scenes, including an eagle wearing the singer's clothes, a ghost playing the koto in the background, a spooky young man mixing the singer up with the killer of flies, and twelve blind people screaming in a pitch black forest. These images seem to hint at a past that is both distant and disturbing, with references to torn buttons from a silk dressing gown, a Hapsburg Empire, and a biography in which a character dies. However, the meaning of these references is never fully explained, leaving the listener to piece together their own interpretation of the narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
The noise of the street enters the house
The sounds from outside are affecting the mood inside.
Darkness conceals the electrosexual sewing machine
The machine is hidden from view in the darkness.
An eagle is wearing your clothes
There's something unusual and surreal happening, with an eagle taking on human clothing.
Your foot has a shoe with six toes
Another surreal image, with a physical deformity of the foot.
The ghost of a girl with long black hair plays the koto as you go to sleep
A ghostly and peaceful image, with music accompanying the setting of going to sleep.
It seems you were born in some Czechoslovakian town. Your buttons were torn from a Hapsburg Empire silk dressing gown.
Describing someone's origin and heritage, including the specific details of their clothing.
Far away and a long time ago. Crimson and black in the snow. A spooky young man whose face was scarred. Mixed you up with the killer of flies.
A dream-like sequence that blends together different imagery with a vague hint of menace or danger.
In a pitch black forest. Twelve blind people are screaming in horror and fear. For their guide. Maybe he died.
A disturbing scene of people lost and afraid, with an uncertain fate for their leader.
Mechanisation is taking command.
A statement about the advance of technology in society, with a suggestion of the negative effects it can have.
All decoration is banned on the word of the ultra-Sadistic popular front.
A reference to an oppressive political regime that forbids artistic expression.
A shrimp has made off with your shirt. You're naked in front of the court. They're reading from your biography. It's the bit where the character dies.
A bizarre and humiliating situation, with the added detail of literary storytelling.
The electrosexual sewing machine!
A repeated exclamation that calls attention to the title object of the song.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aldo Charles
on Morality Is Vanity
I’ve been listening to this song last two weeks.